docs: def _clear_dir(dirName):
      """ Remove a directory and it contents. Ignore any failures.
      """
      # If we got here, clear dir  
      for fname in os.listdir(dirName):
          try:
              os.remove( os.path.join(dirName, fname) )
          except Exception:
              pass
      try:
          os.rmdir(dirName)
      except Exception:
          pass